Reestablishing the rule of law in our courts (Liberty Counsel)

Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee begins four days of confirmation hearings on Judge Neil Gorsuch as President Trump’s first Supreme Court Nominee. Gorsuch faces a tough line of questioning from Democrat opponents who want to see him rejected because he is not a left-leaning judicial activist.

I believe that Judge Neil Gorsuch will help reestablish the rule of law in our nation’s judiciary.Liberty Counsel’s “Save Our Courts, Save Our Nation” campaign is a citizen petition drive that includes support of Judge Gorsuch’s confirmation.

Among the the most vociferous opponents to the appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court is Senator Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader and a “progressive’s progressive.” Among Sen. Schumer’s complaints is that Judge Gorsuch refuses to “answer specific questions about the judiciary and his judicial philosophy” as the Senator recently wrote in an op-ed. Yet, Judge Gorsuch clearly defines himself as a jurist unbiased by both ideology and politics.

Here-in lies part of the rub to Sen. Schumer and other left-leaning lawmakers: In 2005, before Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch was a judge, he slammed leftists for using the courts to force their social agenda on the American people in a 2005 essay published in National Review. Here is an excerpt from that writing:

“American liberals have become addicted to the courtroom, relying on judges and lawyers rather than elected leaders and the ballot box, as the primary means of effecting their social agenda on everything from gay marriage to assisted suicide to the use of vouchers for private-school education. This overweening addiction to the courtroom as the place to debate social policy is bad for the country and bad for the judiciary.”

Judge Gorsuch further identified himself as a constitutional textualist in a tribute to Justice Antonin Scalia, his friend and mentor, and whose seat he would fill:

“[J]udges should instead strive (if humanly and so imperfectly) to apply the law as it is, focusing backward, not forward, and looking to text, structure, and history to decide what a reasonable reader at the time of the events in question would have understood the law to be—not to decide cases based on their own moral convictions or the policy consequences they believe might serve society best.”

+ + Among the greatest dangers facing the rule of law in our nation are political correctness and judicial activism influencing our Justices and judges.

Judicial activism is weakening the role of the legal system in the eyes of the people. The only power that courts have is the trust of the people that judges will act fairly and put aside personal bias. From the Supreme Court to the state and municipal courts, the role of judges is to judge fairly. If they want to be legislators, then let them run for office. Judicial activism has no place on the bench!

+ + Save Our Courts, Save Our Nation!
Now is the time to return this country to the rule of law through which judges interpret the original meaning of the Constitution and the laws they are reviewing.

Liberty Counsel enthusiastically supports the nomination and confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court!

Liberty Counsel’s Save Our Courts, Save Our Nation petition states simply: “I support Judge Neil Gorsuch for the U.S. Supreme Court and urge the Senate to confirm President Trump’s nominee as quickly as possible!”

Liberty Counsel’s plan is to rally at least 100,000 citizens to take action in support of Judge Gorsuch, while engaging a multi-media strategy to represent the views of our team members in the crucial Senate confirmation debate.

The petitions will be delivered to key members of the Senate ahead of critical moments of the confirmation process.